TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The Bookworm Sez Advertisement

This is the year you're going to do it.

This is the year you're finally going to stop screwing around. Prices go up faster than income does, but you're going to buckle down and start putting money away, buy a house, pay some bills, plan retirement.

But man, it's hard. You know there's room for improvement in your financial life, but - aside from brown-bagging and other no-brainer money-savers - how can you bank some coin, painlessly?

You can start by listening to "The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches" by Jeff Yeager. Then, you can put Yeager's ideas to good use and put some serious money aside.

So the excess of the holidays is over and you've had your fill of shopping. Yeager says that's good. You've reached your "Enoughasaurus." You won't feel deprived if you don't spend. Now you're ready to live within your means.

And that includes living with a less-than-palatial house. Yeager says that you should consider a cheaper, smallish home or buy a duplex and let your house pay for itself. Think twice before doing extensive, unnecessary remodeling. Learn to do repairs yourself.

Take a Fiscal Fast, Yeager counsels. Set aside a pre-determined time, usually a week, in which your goal is to completely avoid spending money. Pay bills before or after your Fiscal Fast so you aren't cheating, then get creative. Yeager even advocates doing without your car and without electricity, although he admits those efforts can be tough to employ.

And speaking of tough sacrifices, Yeager urges you to try living without your vehicle completely. Bike or walk to work, or take public transportation. Ask your employer if you can telecommute. If you absolutely, positively need a car, buy used.

I really enjoyed listening to "The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches", and I found plenty of easy-to-start, relatively pain-free ideas that really can save money. But there are three things you'll want to know about this audiobook.

First of all, there are words in this book that are not for little kids, so if you planned on listening to this CD while driving them anywhere, be aware that you might want to re-think that idea.

Secondly, author Jeff Yeager reads his own work on this CD, which makes it much more enjoyable but also means that formulas and ideas whiz by at 50 miles-per-hour. You're going to want to either write things down (impossible when driving) or consult the paper form of this useful book.

Which brings me to the third point: I found it highly ironic that it's cheaper to buy the paperback of this book about saving money than it is to buy the audio version.

Much cheaper, in fact; like, less than half.

Still, if you're a multitasker who listens to audiobooks while driving, this one will make you slow down in more ways than one. If you don't need the CD, definitely get the book. "The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches" could set you on a great new financial highway this year.

"The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches" by Jeff Yeager, read by the author, Brilliance Audio, $29.95, 7 CDs / approx. 8 hours, Broadway Books, $12.95, 242 pages.